WASHINGTON INSIGHT

NO NEW SUPREMES: Don’t expect another summer-long battle over a Supreme Court nominee. . . . Justices traditionally announce their retirements on the final day of the term, which should come before the July 4th holiday. The justice considered most likely to retire next is 83-year-old Harry A. Blackmun, author of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling. But neither Blackmun nor anyone else is expected to retire during an election year. . . . And even if they did, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) is ready to announce that the Senate wouldn’t hold hearings on a Bush nominee until after November.